The Rescued Flock (Pictures Included)

[forgetful]

Well, I got a flock sooner than expected. I got a call yesterday asking if I wanted some young chicks a guy had hatched out for his kids. I agreed, because I was looking for some chickens anyway. They may not be the breed I originally intended, but that's no big deal.

The flock consists of ten chicks, and what I believe is one regular sized chicken with a bunch of bantams. They were all in a very dirty cage and arrived with big feces globs hardened to their feet. I gave them all thorough baths in dawn and managed to remove as much as possible. (I placed them in a towel after, and it was the cutest sight imaginable- like a little chick hotel. They were all snoozing and cuddled up.) A few have curled toes from both the globs, and from having to walk impaired because of them. There's also a very small chick in the bunch who worries me a bit. He doesn't seem as healthy as the rest. Picture time!
(If anyone can aid in breed or gender, it would be much appreciated!)

The set up: (I wanted to jump straight to the crate, but the tiny chick can slip right through the bars if he wanted.)






Silkie(?) (#1):



Silkie(?) (#2):



The large chick. He's almost twice the size of all the others (#3):
Now named Godzilla


I'm not sure what color this is. The chick has white wing tips and a white underbelly (#4):






Another dark chick, with white underbelly but no white tips (#5):
Now named Courage


I've already named this one Falcon. Look at that face (#6):




She has what seems like barring on her back. It's hard to tell in the pictures. Her right foot is severely curled. Is there anything I can do to fix it, or will it straighten up on its own? (#7):
Now named Sweet Pea






The other similar white chick (#8):
Now named Hot Stuff


The more yellow-ish chick (#9):
Now named Lady


And the runt. He is absolutely tiny, and seemed rather miserable for a while. I checked on them again a few minutes ago and his eyes are open, but he seems much colder than the rest of the chicks, who are active and exploring their box (#10):
Now named Little Chick (to be Little Hen or Little Roo)


Already getting accustomed to the food bowl:



Despite the rather gloomy beginning and lingering problems, I'm optimistic about these little guys!

 

[annav410]

At least they have a good home now! I am not sure about the foot problem and hopefully someone will have some good advice for you.

 

[forgetful]

I went and checked on her again and it seems to have curled in on itself more. I'm worried I might have made the problem worse by removing the globs, but I didn't want them to get sick, and leaving the material just didn't seem like an option. They all seem to be adjusting to their new home better, though. They are more alert and curious, less defensive and scared.

A guy I know has a free range flock on his farm. They are all rather wild. One of them broke their leg one day, and without the guy interfering, the leg mended itself and the rooster is walking fine. The only noticeable difference is a very slight curve in the affected leg. I'm hoping if the problem doesn't resolve itself, a simple splint can fix it

 

[kada6305]

I went and checked on her again and it seems to have curled in on itself more. I'm worried I might have made the problem worse by removing the globs, but I didn't want them to get sick, and leaving the material just didn't seem like an option. They all seem to be adjusting to their new home better, though. They are more alert and curious, less defensive and scared.

A guy I know has a free range flock on his farm. They are all rather wild. One of them broke their leg one day, and without the guy interfering, the leg mended itself and the rooster is walking fine. The only noticeable difference is a very slight curve in the affected leg. I'm hoping if the problem doesn't resolve itself, a simple splint can fix it

you can look around on here but I believe i remember seeing somone made some kind of a foot brace for their ducks? I'm sture you could use the same idea of the chick to help straighten it's foot.

 

[forgetful]

I'll have to try that today!

Tiny chick update: He/she is rather uncomfortable almost all the time. He constantly chirps, even when snuggled with the flock and half asleep. I took everyone outside for a short playtime and he wanted none of it. I ended up holding him and Falcon. They seemed more cold than explorative. I'll have to try again when it warms up around midday.

 

[CedarAcres]

I'm glad you've given them a good home! I know you can make a little slipper/splint thing for curled toes. But since they are a little older, it might not work as well. Here's the info on how to make one: curled toe Or just simply google "curled toe chick" and you'll find lots of results!

 

[forgetful]

I changed their brooder to one of those large plastic bins- much more space and I can use the feeder I had bought. I was getting tired of replacing their feed in the dish I was using. Tiny chick can get close to the lamp, and the others can get away if needed, but I've got the temp pretty much how they want it. Hopefully the bin will last until they decide they are big enough to hop out of it.

I tried to splint the curled foot with some electrical tape. I saw it in the forum, but her entire foot is rotated, not just curled. It made the splint pretty ineffective. She gets around and hops and runs, but I worry about sores and cannibalism. I'll have to wait and see.

Falcon seemed rather lethargic this morning, so around noon I gave her some sugar water. She seems a little better, but I think she may also simply be a calmer chick.

Pictures of the new digs in the next post!

 

[forgetful]

Size comparison:



Much more wing room:



The infamous foot:



Falcon!:

 

[kada6305]

We are using the biggest bins you can buy at Walmart so I think 50 gal? It lasted 2 weeks for my ducks so let's see how long it lasts with the chicks. We cut hole in lid and put chicken wire over it so they won't be able to fly out )

 

[forgetful]

Since I believe most of them are bantams, I hope it will last a while! The chicks are starting to figure out the pecking order, it seems. They peck and bump each other a lot.

Little Chick is a bit of an oddball. She will stand next to everyone while they take a group nap, either dozing or standing awake, then all of a sudden barrel into the middle of the group and wake everyone up. She will also push everyone out of the way when they eat- including the large chick who I've dubbed Godzilla. It's a funny sight to see. I couldn't tell when I had bathed everyone, but she has a very appealing color of feathers coming in.

Socialization wasn't going as I hoped, so I cheated a little. While everyone was napping I took their feed trough out and when they woke I had feed in my hand ready to go. They had no choice but to come to me. I think they took to it rather well, seeing as I refilled my hand several times. I'm hoping to get them to not run away when I place my hand in the brooder by the end of the week. I wanted to take everyone out for playtime today, but its been pouring raining since last night.

I also made them scrambled eggs, but no one was a big fan. I left some for the flock if anyone developed a sudden interest.

The curled foot hasn't made any noticeable improvement, but there hasn't been any decline either.